Veteran riffers and MST3K alums Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy performed their 20th RiffTrax Live event from the State Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota on the evening of Tue., June 29.

MST3K Reunion Poster (RiffTrax/Fathom Events)

Celebrating the revival of “MST3K” and the 10th anniversary of “RiffTrax”

In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the popular film riffing service and the relaunch of MST3K, the majority of cast members from the original run of MST3K appeared on stage with the RiffTrax crew, including series creator and first host Joel Hodgson, comedy writers and performers Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Mary Jo Pehl, Bridget Jones Nelson and Jonah Ray, who will be the host of the new MST3K.

The event showcased many cheesy educational and industrial short films that were riffed during the presentation, including “The Talking Car” (1968, Alfred Higgins Productions/AAA, riffed by Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy and Mike Nelson), “A Word to the Wives” (1955, Telamerica, featuring Darren McGavin as the angry father, riffed by Bridget Nelson and Mary Jo Pehl), “More Dates for Kay” (1952, Coronet, riffed by Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff) the Caterpillar industrial safety film, “Shake Hands with Danger” (1970, produced by Centron, riffed by the RiffTrax crew) and an AFL-CIO short on Barbers and Beauticians (1950’s, riffed by Joel Hodgson and Jonah Ray).

All performers joined together at the conclusion of the event, titled “Super Riff-A-Palooza!” The remaining riffed shorts consisted of a 1954 featurette, “Stamp Day for Superman” (produced for the U.S. Treasury Department by the producers of “The Adventures of Superman” TV series, featuring George Reeves) and a RiffTrax favorite- the 1970 ACI short subject “Grasses,” part of the short-lived educational film firm’s “At Your Fingertips” series.

“RiffTrax Live: MST3K Reunion Show” was showcased at Regal’s Germantown 14 cineplex in Germantown, Maryland. Shown inside multiplex auditorium #13,* eager MSTies and fans of RiffTrax were delighted by the presentation from start to finish, along with pre-show trivia slides and a digital goodies package for patrons of the show. Compared to the previous RiffTrax Live presentation of the 1994 Z-budget film, “Time Chasers” (which was shown at the same cinema venue back in May), the auditorium was nearly full for the special event.

Prior to the show, an unidentified man commemorated that evening’s presentation by wearing a “Castleton” t-shirt. He regretted not wearing his shirt for the previous “Time Chasers” presentation. Another spectator wore a Tommy Wiseau “Ohai” shirt in commemoration of the event (the RiffTrax crew riffed Wiseau’s 2003 low-budget drama, “The Room”).

“RiffTrax Live: MST3K Reunion Show:” A fantastic experience

“RiffTrax Live: MST3K Reunion Show” was enjoyed by fellow MSTies and fans of the RiffTrax crew when it was showcased at Regal’s Germantown cineplex. It was the perfect rib-tickling stressbuster that was enjoyed by all. Here’s to many more years of cinematic riffing.

Missed out on “RiffTrax Live: MST3K Reunion Show?” Don’t worry- RiffTrax and Fathom Events will be showing a special re-broadcast (in select cinema venues from coast-to-coast) on July 12 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.

A “Silver Screen Reflections” Shout-Out: The writer of “Silver Screen Reflections” would like to thank the people at RiffTrax and Fathom Events for the press passes to “RiffTrax Live: MST3K Reunion Show. ” It was an enjoyable and fun experience. Thank you letting us be a part of the presentation!

The film, which was adapted from H.G. Wells’ novel, “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” which is about an evil scientist who turns wild animals into human beasts. This was the first film adaptation of Wells’ story, and was remade in 1977 (under the title of Wells’ story, with Burt Lancaster and Michael York) and 1996 (with Marlon Brando, directed by John Frankenheimer).

Erle Kenton began his film career with Mack Sennett’s Keystone Films and played one of the “Keystone Kops” in silent comedies for Sennett’s company. After “Island of Lost Souls,” Kenton would direct several horror features for Universal Studios, including “The Ghost of Frankenstein” (1942), “House of Frankenstein” (1944) and “House of Dracula” (1945).

Around the same year that Kenton directed “The Ghost of Frankenstein,” he would also direct two comedies featuring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello- “Who Done It?” and “Pardon my Sarong” (both 1942).

1932 ad for “Island of Lost Souls,” featuring a sketch of Kathleen Burke, who was only billed as “The Panther Woman” (in the film’s opening title credits and advertising material).

According to a 1932 Paramount press book, Burke was chosen out of 60,000 actresses to play the part of Lota (“The Panther Woman”) in a studio-sponsored talent search. One year later, Burke starred in the Paramount thriller ”Murders in the Zoo,” which also featured Charlie Ruggles and Lionel Atwell (that aforementioned film was also shown on “Svengoolie” back in April of this year).

“Island of Lost Souls:” One of the definitive horror greats

Though it was deemed controversial when it was first released in 1932, the film has remained a cult horror classic, and was the inspiration for the name of the debut album for the rock band Devo (taken from Bela Lugosi’s memorable line in the film- “Are We Not Men?”).

Some 84 years after its general release, “Island of Lost Souls” still gives chills to modern audiences, and Svengoolie will present the film with his trademark sketches in-between commercial breaks. You won’t want to miss it!

Here is a small sneak peek of upcoming posts for the remainder of June:

A post related to the field of cinema exhibition (and the Frederick area): A must-read on this site.

The future of Washington’s “Screen On the Green” Classic/Cult Film Series: Two corporate backers decided to pull out of the long-running outdoor cult/classic film festival on the grounds of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

“Sensurround-“ Universal’s short-lived motion picture sound enhancement system that was featured in several of the studio’s film releases in the mid-1970s.

And much more! Stay tuned for more exciting posts on “Silver Screen Reflections.”

May 19 is Father’s Day- Happy Father’s Day to all fathers out there from “Silver Screen Reflections.”

On the official website for RiffTrax, they are holding a ticket giveaway contest for the live broadcast of “RiffTrax Live: MST3K Reunion Show.” 10 winners will be chosen for the prize of two FREE ticket passes to watch the live RiffTrax event on June 28 (in select theaters).

1977 Arista Records promotional ad in Billboard Magazine for the soundtrack album to “The Greatest.” The title song to the film, sung by George Benson was #24 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart (Oct. 8, 1977).

In addition to the reenacted scenes that featured the heavyweight boxing champion, footage from Ali’s matches were included in the film, including the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” match against competing boxing champion George Foreman.